http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/03/30/2011-pass-blocking-efficiency-running-backs/ Dtrain got plenty of work staying in to block, the pity is he showed soft hands at K-State iirc. Reggie Bush was more akin to a speed bump.
It says Michael Turner is #2 in PBE. Thomas had the 2nd highest percentage of plays he stayed in to block per passing plays.
He's not quite Clinton Portis but he threw some physical blocks. Way better than Reggie Bush at least, who is horrifying.
Bush really is a poor blocker. DTrain, hopefully he can do more for us this yr as he does do the little things well, hopefully Philbin uses him a bit like Cameron used Ronnie Brown in 07.
That's the thing Alen, imo Garrard and Thomas are nice pieces, toss in Fasano and Bess we have some good building blocks. Problem is, we have to stretch the field.
He improved as the season went on, but overall I wouldnt call DT a good blocker. Hes got some improving to do still
At least he did SOMETHING well his rookie year. He sucked at actually running the ball. I hope he improves this year or we can add another second round bust to that long list: Misi, Merling, Pat White, Chad Henne, and the 2 2s we traded for Brandon Marshall.
Off-season isn't over yet Padre. Absolutely. Two years? Man, the patience gets shorter and shorter eh?
Thing is Alen, Ireland is just skittish at drafting playmakers with high picks, and the FA mkt at Wr is exhausted When Donnie Avery is signing, there is not much left. That said, it appears to me IF Ireland handles this offseason correctly, we can have a 2005 type of season
Do we need to stretch the field so much as we need guys who can make a play from any point on the field? There are some guys like Mike Wallace and DeSean Jackson (to an extent) who make their bones mainly on deep routes. Then there are guys like Greg Jennings who can run routes well enough to take slants and posts to the "house". I'm much more comfortable with the latter. Unless we throw Joe Flacco out there, straight line speed isn't going to be king.
His performance vs the run and pass rushing during his rookie season was definitely 2nd round pick worthy.
His best games pass blocking were vs Houston and @ the Jets. Week 2 and Week 6. His only negative game was vs Denver when he allowed a sack and a QB hit. He only allowed the one sack, 2 total QB hits, and no pressures for the season. The only better pass blockers were Fred Jackson, Ahmad Bradshaw and Roy Helu.
Not only do I believe that DT was a good pass blocker, but I also believe that he is best as a zone blocking runner. If he stays healthy this year, I think he could be part of a nice 1-2 punch at running back.
With Running Backs having immediate success more and more, I don't think two years is as short a leash as it once was. Then again, I hated the Thomas pick from the get go.
Staying healthy is key with DT. If he cannot this year, he should not be counted on in the future and a replacement should be sought.
He wasn't all that good at it in the pros, either. He's big, physical, but he wasn't doing it right yet. Had a few major gaffes. He looks better at it IMO because the guy on his team people compare him to is Reggie Bush.
how can people hate on thomas? he was hurt for the majority of the season, even when he was active. hamstring issues can linger and im sure at 0-7 we weren't trying to ruin the guys career. he had a horrible o line and still showed some promise. i hate ireland but thomas is not a reason.
If you want to call it "hate" simply to state that you thought the guy was drafted higher than he should've been, with better football players on the board...so be it. I don't think that's a very good way of looking at things, though. It's not unfair to look at guys like Demarco Murray, Kendall Hunter, Roy Helu, Stevan Ridley, Delone Carter and Evan Royster all having been taken after Daniel Thomas, and all having performed arguably better as rookies. It may be unfair to conclude a guy's career this early, but it's not unfair to point out that so far the decision to trade up and take him isn't looking so hot.
Could you imagine spending a 2nd on a rb in this years draft? It's loaded with backs I like better than DT.
Couldn't have put it better myself. No one's calling DT a bust just yet. However, I think its fair to say that he has not yet lived up to his second round status yet. We shall see, but I am not expecting much...kinda like Koa Misi.
Simple fact of the matter is Daniel Thomas was among 9 rookie tailbacks that took 50+ carries this year. The others were Demarco Murray, Roy Helu, Mark Ingram, Kendall Hunter, Delone Carter, Stevan Ridley, Jacquizz Rodgers and Evan Royster. Daniel Thomas' 3.52 yards average per carry was worst among them. Reggie Bush playing behind the same offensive line had a YPC (5.07) that would've ranked higher than all but one of those rookies (Demarco Murray). So I'm not sure you make the argument that Daniel Thomas couldn't have succeeded behind the offensive line. Thomas also ran the ball 11 times on Goal-to-Go and did not score a single time. Not one. That is awful. Might be the worst I've ever seen for someone with 10+ tries in a year, and I'm not even exaggerating. So obviously, this player has to pick up the pace. His career isn't over. However, it would not be inaccurate to say that if he has another season like he had in 2011, he will no longer be in the team's long term plans. They will move on.
the only guy on that list i'd rather have is murrary and he broke his ankle or whatever. I'm telling you, he hurt his hamstring and it lingered all year. After that he never really had an oppurtunity. See how he does this year, then you all can ***** about him.
There were also mitigating issues with Thomas. He had hamstring issues, and the Dolphins didn't do him a lot of favor with use. It seems like they loved nothing more than to lock down in certain games and give him a handful of carries on inside zone plays that the offensive line couldn't successfully block all season long.
